London skyscraper's 'solar death ray' melts cars!

The glare was so hot it warped the wingmirror of this car [PIC: Laura Lean]

The curve-shaped 'Walkie-Talkie' building in the City of London has now been dubbed 'Walkie-Scorchie' after it caused £950 of damage to a high-spec Jaguar parked nearby.

The intense rays are given off for two hours a day when the sun reaches a certain position in the sky, and managed to warp the panels and wingmirror on the side of local businessman Martin Lindsay's car.

He was shocked to discover the damage when he returned to his vehicle, and has warned that the rays could be dangerous.

Mr Lindsay said: "You can't believe something like this would happen.

The melting goes right down the side of the Jaguar [PIC: Laura Lean]

The rays reflect off the building onto the street

“Imagine if the sun reflected on the wrong part of the body”

Martin Lindsay

"They've got to do something about it.

"It could be dangerous. Imagine if the sun reflected on the wrong part of the body."

Mr Lindsay's car is not the only mechanical victim - heating and conditioning engineer Eddie Cannon added: "The van looks a total mess - every bit of plastic on the left hand side and everything on the dashboard has melted, including a bottle of Lucozade that looks like it has been baked."

Three parking bays have now been suspended in an attempt to stop any more damage.

Martin Lindsay is worried the rays could be dangerous

The sun's glare is intense for two hours of the day [PIC: Laura Lean]

The 37-storey building at 20 Fenchurch Street is still under construction, and developers Land Securities and Canary Wharf, said they are investigating the glare from the skyscraper.

They said: ”We did do solar analysis and modelling but it wasn’t picked up. That is always a risk with a building with a new shape...

"As a precautionary measure, the City of London has agreed to suspend three parking bays in the area which may be affected."

The bizarre phenomenon is set to end in three weeks when the autumn sun changes position.